Love it or list it? That is the question

Changes in our life mean that we’re all forced to re-evaluate whether our homes are fit for purpose at various points. Whether it’s expanding your family, kids leaving the nest or getting together with a partner, the moment you realise that your current home doesn’t quite work is a poignant one. And the next big decision is whether you ‘Love it or list it’.

Kirstie & Phil’s TV programme usually finds that there are opposing teams within each household. So, does that mean that we are firmly rooted in Team Kirstie or Team Phil? You’d assume that we were Team Kirstie given we’re all about helping people make the most of their homes. But no, there are three things that we would consider before deciding which side to pledge your allegiance to.

Is it possible to create the space you need/want?

Clever use of dead zones, moving doorways and knocking a wall or two down can transform a space without having to build. But in most cases extending the space up or out is required to create the space that’s needed. However, there are limitations to what you can do to a home. If you live in a conservation area, have specific access needs or a specific style/look in mind then it may not be possible to ‘love it’ enough to suit your lifestyle.

Will doing the work create a ‘balanced’ home?

It’s easy to identify that you need another bedroom or you need more living space/a bigger kitchen.

However, if you think about them in isolation you can create an ‘imbalanced’ home e.g.

• If you extend your loft to create a 4/5 bedroom home but your ground floor living space is limited to a smaller kitchen/diner or living room.

• Or, you build a ground floor extension to create a fantastic kitchen/living area but are still limited on bedroom space for a larger family.

These options might work for your household but could limit the potential for selling in the future. Which leads me to the next point very nicely!

Will the work add value to your home?

Although the decision to ‘love’ rather than ‘list’ generally means you’re planning to stay put for a while, things can and do change. So, any changes we recommend doing to your home always take into consideration the future value that the work would add and we would let you know if we believe any work would cost more than it would add in value.

So does that mean we’re on Team Love or Team List? Well, most of the time we’re confident that we can help people make the most of their current home. But, we won’t be scared to say if we don’t think renovating a home is the best option. So Team Kirstie and Phil it is!